Employees’ knowledge about their coworkers’ knowledge (i.e., meta-knowledge) is central for
organizations to create competitive advantages. According to Communication Visibility Theory,
enterprise social networks (ESNs) have the potential to foster long-term formation of metaknowledge.
However, research about this potential is still limited. Using a quantitative study, we
improve the understanding of how ESNs facilitate the development of meta-knowledge in three
ways: we (1) show that the creation of meta-knowledge through ESNs works across contexts, (2)
find that ESNs can lead to rather immediate increases in meta-knowledge, and (3) reveal that
managers can gain more meta-knowledge using ESNs than can non-managers.